Herbs Shooting Up And Flowering

[shivvy]

I have a few herbs planted in a window box outside. Nearly all of them have either flowered or shot up and stopped producing usable leaves.
What can I do to stop this, or is it just something that they do?

Thanks.

[Canary42]

Mine do that too, so I would be interested if it can be prevented.

[shivvy]

I read about coriander and found out that it can be a bit temperamental so a change in heat or location can cause it to panic and go into flowering mode so that it survives!
But my marjoram has flowered, some stems on my flat leaf parsley have shot up (I cut those bits down at the bottom and it hasn't happened again), my coriander is just tall thin stalks with white flowers at the end, and my oregano has shot up and has little buds at the end.
It isn't bothering me too much because they look lovely and the smell is great as I walk past them, but I'm just nterested to know if I'm doing anything wrong.

[Maydup]

Its best to pinch out the little flower buds as soon as you see them. The plant will then produce more leaves which need picking from the top growth regularly. Even if you don't need that herb that week, its good to pick and prune when there is plenty of growth. Left to its own devises most herbs will grow tall, leggy and flower.

[Maydup]

So prune yours now to about half the height, pinch out all other flowers and you should see an improvement.

[shivvy]

Ah great Maydup so it is up to me to stop it from happening. OK i will know to do that in the future (the way that I treated my flat leaf parsley?) but what do I do with the current plants? Is it too late for them or can I cut them right back and they will start growing again?

[Buenchico]

Maydup's advice is excellent.

However I'd also question where you got your herbs from in the first place. The RHS website advises against buying pot-grown plants from supermarkets, as they often don't adapt well to life outdoors. Perhaps that's relevant?
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=142

[shivvy]

Sorry Maydup I didn't see your second post when I asked about what to do with my current herbs. I will trim them all today. Thanks for your help.

Buenchico - I have heard that too. Mine are all either bought from a garden centre or grown from seed. Thanks.